


Crystalline Silver

by violinzfa



Series: Trans! Bruce Wayne AU [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Batfamily (DCU), Comic Book Science, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:42:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28041078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violinzfa/pseuds/violinzfa
Summary: After a mission at CADMUS, Nightwing and Red Hood return for family dinner night with no noticeable complications...or so they think.AKA The de-aged Nightwing and Red Hood moment alluded to in AaSoB.
Series: Trans! Bruce Wayne AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1876204
Kudos: 36





	1. Stars and Shadows

**Author's Note:**

> As soon as finals are over I'll finish this but I at least wanna get this out there since I really do love this little AU, even if I don't always like how the events pan out. In the end its all part of the writing process so each little project helps me get even better (even if its just my mentality toward writing)! (The same goes for all of you aspiring writers out there!) 
> 
> So with out any more rambling, enjoy this snippet before I release the full first chapter!
> 
> ->So you can probably skip this next edit ahead if you want...
> 
> EDIT: I've finally finished this angsty crack pot of a chapter and aim to have at most 4 chapters because my commitment game is literal trash and getting something done while I still have my train of thought is so much less stressful. Like ngl I had a fic that lasted the entire time I was in high school and I couldn't find the inspiration anymore so I ended it with some open ended, totally unfulfilling garbage that I feel is not what I was going for in the first place. Moral of the story, do what you love, when you love it and if you lose what you love it crushes you to see it again. Though there is always a chance for it to come back but now I'm rambling....

“On your right!”

“Gah!”

“No, your other right!”

“Real helpful Dickhead,” Jason remarked, dodging another hit from his 3 o’ clock. He and Dick were sent off to do some recon on some CADMUS experiment on cloning (go figure) but ended up in a … less than optimal situation. It’s always gotta be something, Jay thought. 

"OK. I think we lost them for now. Let's go to the sub-basement before they come back," Dick said, looking back and forth just to make sure. Jason nodded and put one of his guns back, keeping the other on hand. They made their way down in proper Batclan fashion to The Room. 

"Fuck, that's bright," Dick said as he opened the door to The Room. Jason's helmet began filtering the excess light. Now able to see, he found the source: a giant, seemingly fluid mass in a giant containment pod. Then he felt a chill going down his neck. Dick began coughing and quickly dug out his rebreather from his belt. A sparkling ray seemed to emit from the pod and heavy warmth washed over the two. Jason quickly put a usb into one if the computers and the virus program made short work of CADMUS's systems.

"I got the specs," Jason called out, pulling out the USB and went to drag Dick out of The Room. Dick seemed to be in a trance after staring at the pod but snapped out of it as soon as Jason tugged on his arm. 

The two made their way out with relatively no struggle. Well, there was that Tyler guy which goon 3 (who was obviously an anime fan) began yelling at, saying something about 'respecting his senpai' or something like that. Jason and Dick stopped and stared at them a little incredulously before shaking their heads and finally leaving.

~~~~~

"Here," Jason tossed the usb at Tim who caught it in one hand and took a sip from the mug that was in his other hand. Jason turned on his heel and began to take a step toward his bike but a stern voice made him freeze.

"Don't forget it's family dinner night Master Jason. You weren't about to retire to your safe house in the Narrows beforehand were you?" Alfred was right behind him. Jason nearly flinched from the older man's close proximity. 

"O-oh. Um-I, er…" Jason hopelessly failed to get anything coherent out. Alfred's presence seemed to grow and get heavier on him. 

"Of course not!" he finally managed. 

"I'd better see you upstairs then. And the rest of you as well," Alfred shifted his gaze to Tim and Dick, who were just like deer in the headlights. Then he disappeared up the stairs. When everyone in the cave thought Alfred was up, his voice echoed almost eerily throughout the cave, “and you and Dick mustn't forget to scan yourselves for any abnormalities. We wouldn’t want any of you to become ill from your...endeavors.” The door opened then closed.

A moment later there was crunching. Everyone turned to Dick. Dick didn’t even blink and kept shoveling his face with more cereal. 

~~~~~

The next day when Bruce woke up there was screaming. 

Or perhaps a better term would be squealing? The voice couldn’t have come from someone older than Damian from the pitch, but Damian wouldn’t resign himself to such ‘inappropriate behaviors.’ He grabbed his robe and made his way downstairs, following the high pitched voice.

A black haired boy was running through the halls wearing what seemed to be Jason’s hand-me-downs. In the corner of his vision he could also see another boy in more formal clothing, hiding behind a corner with a sharp glare on his face. Bruce could already feel a headache coming on. Ignoring the pretty-normal-to-vigilantes-but-wtf-to-normal-people situation, he walked straight to the Keurig, popped in a K-cup and filled his mug with deliciously artificially-flavored hot bean juice. He took a long sip which turned into chugging the whole cup down then made another cup and downed that just as fast. The boy in Jason’s clothes suddenly ran up to Bruce and nearly headbutted him with how clumsily he stopped.

“Oh my goodness Bruce! I still can’t believe you let me stay here with you! I mean Batman was the one who dropped me off here but still!!!” Oh dear God he knew this child. Looking into the boy’s eyes he knew. 

Jason.

Damn it. And Dick was with him yesterday so the other boy in the shadows must have been him. 

Just.

Great.

~~~~~

Bruce gave the situation the benefit of the doubt: aka he’d call someone with mystical expertise if he couldn’t solve the problem within a week. Tim and Damian were still in Europe so Bruce would have to keep it together for a few days. 

Of course its not as easy as it sounds, and it only goes downhill from there. By the tapping in the ceiling, Dick was most likely in the ventilation and Jason moved on to seeing how fast he could slide down the railing of the staircase. He could leave Dick up there for probably another hour before he got hungry so he took his chances with Jason. 

"Jason, how about you go help prepare lunch with Alfred?" Bruce asked as he caught the boy before he smashed his face into the sculpture bust by the bottom of the stairs. Jason's smile was so blinding Bruce could hear angels. Oh goodness this dear child is too pure for this world!

"Oooo! Maybe we can make breakfast sandwiches! The ones with the runny eggs and everything bagels and bacon and--" the boy's voice eventually died off as he marched over to the kitchen. Then Bruce went back up the stairs to find Dick...hopefully without getting the silent treatment. 

Bruce didn’t think he’d have to go through this again. Dick had already gone through so much at that age. The agony of losing his parents right in front of him coupled with his acrobatic prowess made for a dangerous combination. Dick could easily have turned into his grandfather’s puppet. A slave to his grandfather’s legacy as a talon just so he could finally kill off his pain. Then some days he would act so uncharacteristically calm as if nothing had happened and the next he was nowhere to be found, a vicious cycle that only stopped after Bruce gave him something to focus all of his feelings into. Although he supposed vigilantism was probably not the best way to go... 

That’s right, Bruce finally remembered. His favorite spot was the corner space leftmost of the attic. Dick would hide his stuffed elephant there to protect it and hide himself behind boxes of Bruce’s childhood niceties as well. Bruce walked into the attic with slight caution in his step as if approaching an injured animal. 

“I know you’re there Mr. Wayne,” a small voice said from the left of the attic. Dick came out from his place in the corner with his elephant in his arms. His eyes narrowed.

“Alfred is making breakfast for lunch,” offered Bruce. Damn it, that wasn’t what he wanted to say. How pathetic.

“Who is that other boy? I thought you didn’t have any other relatives,” Dick turned his head and raised his hand to his chin in thought. “Unless,” he dropped his hand and looked at Bruce right in the eyes, “that’s just another one of your lies.” 

Ok fuck. This was REALLY not going well. Fuuuuuuuuuck---and any other curse words he could think of...

“So?” GODDAMN-he wiped the dumb look off his face and gave his least shitty answer he could think of while under emotional stress. 

“I adopted him the other day?” nope nope nope nope nope and nooooooo. That was probably the most honest but ultimately the worst thing he could have said; Bruce contemplated death right there. Dick on the other hand was a mix of different emotions all threatening to bubble over. 

“Fine. Breakfast sounds great for lunch,” Dick settled for defeat as he made his way back down to the dining room.

shit.


	2. One More Day

Whatever. Right?  As long as no one tried to kill each other it was fine. 

Bruce finally went and got dressed for the day. By the time he went downstairs, the boys were eating their breakfast foods but also keeping to themselves. Oddly quiet from their usual meals. Half a week, Bruce reminded himself. 

"What's your name? I'm Jason! I didn't really get to properly meet you since you were hiding and stuff," Jason attempted to converse with Dick. He smiled almost blindingly at the other boy.

"Why should I tell you?" said Dick. He didn't even look up. Jason's face fell for a moment, then he turned back to his plate. The rest of the meal was spent in silence.

~~~~~

"I'm heading out to the office now boys. Please behave yourselves for Alfred," Bruce took his keys and pat each of the boys on the shoulder before heading out. 

Jason turned to face Dick but no one was there. 

"Hey wait, where did you go!" he turned his head frantically and ran out to the main room. The other boy was already out of sight. Jason puffed his cheeks and let out a small growl. Stomping slightly, Jason made his way to the library. He would at least busy himself so as to not bother Alfred unnecessarily. 

Dick on the other hand had used some acrobatics to make his way to the second floor in seconds. He watched from behind the railing as Jason marched off the. disappeared back to what he thought was his room. 

The room was locked.

Well, breaking the door would only make more trouble for Alfred so Dick went into the master bedroom instead where there would most likely be something to pick the lock. (Well, this  _ is _ Mr. Paranoid we're talking about.)

Looking to the dresser he found a few bobby pins. Perfect. Grabbing the pins he made his way back to his door and picked the lock. What he found was definitely  _ not  _ what his room should have looked like. Books lined the shelves, all appearing to be classics and a lone guitar leaned on the side of the shelf. The closet contained casual clothes not unlike what Jason was wearing. Even the sheets were different from what he remembered… It wasn't like Dick hadn't been living with Bruce for a while, so how could his room… 

"Tch," Dick stomped out of the offensive room, slamming the door behind him.

~~~~~

Jason busied himself with the new books that appeared overnight in the library. He figured that Dick had been de-aged or something since Bruce's ward was supposed to be an adult living in Bludhaven, wanting nothing to do with Bruce or him. He certainly wasn’t stupid. Hilariously enough this Dick Grayson was pretty similar to Jason’s current perception of him. The library door creaked open unexpectedly. Jason peered behind one of the shelves to see who it was but by then Dick was a few feet away. 

“What are you even doing here?” Dick pointed with his arm outstretched to Jason’s chest. Before Jason could even answer Dick continued, putting his arm down and looking at the ceiling. “What am  _ I _ even doing here? I apparently don’t have a room here anymore and the one I woke up in was a freaking  _ guest room _ !” He turned away. “Do I-” he cut himself off but there was an obvious ‘matter to Bruce?’ coming after.

Jason painfully knew what he was talking about. The room was Bruce’s childhood room originally which was given to Dick then to him. A de-aged Dick would most _ certainly _ be upset about that. 

“I don’t know how to tell you this but you’re supposed to be older,” Jason started. Dick whipped his head back around with his face scrunched but slightly glaring. Jason explained further, “the Dick Grayson I know is an adult living in Bludhaven.” 

“You’re lying!”

“I wish I could make up something like that but it’s true.”

“But I-” Dick cut himself off again.

“On the bright side, it’s probably some sort of weak magic that’ll wear off in a bit, at least a lot of magic is that way,” concluded Jason. Dick seemed to accept that explanation. 

“Well, now that you’re here, do you wanna read with me? I brought some good ones down,” Jason gestured to the pile on the table. 

“Tch, whatever,” Dick plopped himself in the other chair beside him and picked up a book from the top of the pile.

~~~~~

Bruce came back to a quiet mansion. Well it’s not a ‘bad’ quiet until the chaos presents itself, he thought as he put his coat and shoes away. He ventured through the halls to where he knew Jason would be, but was not expecting Dick to also be. Thank God they're getting along. 

~~~~~

Of course it only stayed uneventful until it was time for bed. 

“Why can’t I open my room?” Dick asked with slight force. 

“Hey, it isn’t even  _ your _ room anymore. It’s mine!” Jason replied. Here was the oncoming headache Bruce was waiting for. 

“No one is going in that room then. You can both sleep in the rooms where you woke up,” said Bruce. Both boys’ jaws hung so low they almost reached the floor. Dick looked away and growled but Jason just stared at Bruce in confusion. 

“But-” Jason started.

“No.”

~~~~~

The next day the boys avoided each other as if the other had the plague. The only time they were seen together was three times, all for meals. 

“This isn’t healthy for them sir,” Alfred said. He was assisting Bruce analyze the data from the boys’ scans but there were no statistically significant data points. 

“What else can I do? They both only have memories up to their respective ages and neither trust the other because of it,” Bruce pounded his fist on the table beside the keyboard of the bat-computer. “I’m not sure whether I should tell them that they're  _ both _ de-aged either since Dick isn’t reacting well now that he knows.” 

“They are smart boys and will soon discover the truth one way or another.” Alfred finished closing out the data on the laptop and logged out, then he left Bruce alone in the cave.

~~~~~

One day, Bruce promised himself. One more day in which he would have to deal with the de-aged boys. This morning he found Dick hissing like a cat at Jason from the top of a pillar. Jason stuck out his tongue, put his thumbs by his ears, then while wiggling his fingers blew raspberries back at Dick. Both of them skittered away in opposite directions. 

What in the actual fuck. 

Every encounter was almost comical. Dick on the chandelier while Jason recited Hamlet. Jason finding his guitar, setting the amp to max, then playing whatever annoyingly mainstream riffs he thought of, and Dick sloppily playing a Chopin etude on the keyboard with equal volume. Jason screeching and Dick making pterodactyl sounds? 

OK maybe he should intervene? 

Then there were cow moos coming from the yard. 

Nope. Bruce turned on the TV and set it to the news. 

More animal sounds were coming from outside and maybe some car sounds? Oh dear god not the Porche. 

Please no.

Ace started pulling his sleeve. Bruce’s head fell into his palm as he sighed.

One more day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things will be more interesting as the other two boys drop by, mostly with Damian. 
> 
> On that note, next chapter: Tim and Damian fee the wrath of de-aged Dick and Jason.


	3. The Boys are Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These boys are a mess. Bruce is stressed. Alfred is best dressed.

The next time Bruce woke up Tim was at the door with two mugs of coffee.

“Were you ever going to tell up about, er,” Tim paused and turned his head to the hall as two voices began arguing about something. Maybe cheese related? 

“Great. You’re already acquainted with the situation,” Bruce practically growled as his vocal chords warmed up. He put on his robe and picked up the mug Tim offered, taking a sip from the wonderful bean water. 

“Yeah I was afraid of that. On the other hand our mission was a success. Pretty uneventful compared to this ‘situation’ I guess.” 

“We should pick up on my analyses of said situation then,” said Bruce, chugging the rest of the mug’s contents. The two made their way down to the cave.

“So what are we dealing with?” began Tim as they descended the cave stairs. 

“Well after pulling the footage off of their suits the only lead we have is of this crystal in a pod in the sub-basement of CADMUS,” Bruce pulled up the video feed of the lab, the crystal emitting a near-blinding light. Then he turned back to Tim, “oddly enough, their scans came back normal.”

“Did you get the chance to scan them in their current state?” Tim squinted at the screen in an attempt to find more details but it all looked fairly standard. 

“Unfortunately no.”

“Is it because of your BS protocol issues?”

“I--No! It’s because they are too up in each other’s faces that leaving them to their own devices was less stressful,” Bruce huffed, crossing his arms. 

“It was because the young masters simply bested Master Bruce in a game of hide and seek,” Alfred interrupted helpfully. 

“Seriously? Man, that is just lame,” Tim shook his head at the thought, taking a sip from his mug. He quickly tensed up as Bruce took a hold of his shoulders, some of the precious bean juice spilling down his front. 

Bruce looked him dead in the eyes: "you will never know of the horrors I have seen these past couple days. Sure, I experienced and learned how to deal with the INDIVIDUALLY, but put them together and you have a whole new set of variables to account for." Then he bowed his head, "I'm too old for this." 

~~~~~

"I think we did it."

"Jason, of course we did it. I mean, did you see the look on his face?"

"Well Dick, this is  _ Bruce  _ we're talking about. Who knows what that emotionally constipated mess is thinking?"

"True. Though maybe we should take the giraffe back to the zoo."

Both boys looked at each other then at the giraffe in the garden and back.

"Yeah, probably."

~~~~~

"Father, what is with the giraffe in the garden?" asked Damian as he strolled into the cave, putting away his gear. Bruce muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'not this shit again.' Damian raised an eyebrow at that but pressed no further. 

"Fuck, we're getting nowhere. They must have kept ancient frigging records because the CADMUS data we got has nothing on this damn crystal!" said Bruce as he threw his arms, and unfortunately the mouse, in the air.

*TK TK TK Tt.t.tt.t * The mouse bounced and rolled a bit on the cave ground.

And this is why he used his Bat Mouse ™️ and not Logitech. He wasn't that basic. Sighing, he got up and grabbed the mouse that could most likely survive a nuclear war and sank back down into his seat. 

~~~~~

"I call dibs on the last apple!" Jason made a mad dash for the fruit basket but was stopped by another boy who... wasn't Dick?

“Tt. This the situation Father was so concerned about?” The boy seemed about the same age as Jason, but the way his eyes glared and lips pouted slightly. The way his whole demeanor gave off snooty rich kid vibes? Nah. Fuck that shit. A moment passed and both boys were still in the middle of the hallway. 

“So can I get to the kitchen or are we gonna have a Mexican standoff?” Jason put a hand on his hip. The other boy raised an eyebrow then rolled his eyes. This was getting nowhere.

“Well imma go then...” Jason calmly walked past the weird kid and thankfully got to the fruit bowl with no other strange encounters. Halfway into the apple Jason thought back on the boy in the hallway. Oh god did that kid say what he thought he said? Who is his father then? It couldn’t be Bruce right? Jason had been living with Bruce and at some point you think you know a guy when you’ve gone around Gotham saving the innocents enough times. Jason stopped.

Oh no.

It wasn’t just Dick who was affected.

~~~~~

“Well I’m gonna sit over here and watch Naruto if you don’t mind,” Tim said to Dick without looking at him. Dick on the other hand was staring in the direction of the off TV and nearly flinched from the other’s sudden statement. Tim plopped himself onto the ground and got set up. As Sasuke ran away from the leaf ninjas for what was most likely the hundredth time Tim turned to look at Dick who seemed as if he was somewhere else. 

“Is there something you’d like to watch?” Tim asked. Dick didn’t even bat an eyelash before slumping over the arm of the couch with his hip being the only thing on the cushions. His arms were over the side, almost touching the floor and his legs were slightly above the ground from the angle he was at. All in all, that couldn’t be comfortable. Looking closer Tim saw his face was flushed and there was a bit of sweat on his temple. He definitely did not sign up for this but family is like that. Sighing, Tim positioned Dick a bit more comfortably and ventured out to grab a blanket. 

“Allow me Master Timothy,” Alfred said as he materialized with a soft blanket, draping it over Dick’s feverish form. 

“I’ll go tell Bruce,” Tim and Alfred nodded to one another.

~~~~~

“It was almost laughable. He thought he could best me in a duel,” Damian said over Bruce’s shoulder.

“Mhm,” Bruce replied.

“Such undisciplined mannerisms. Was he even taught proper fighting techniques?” 

“Yup.”

“...Father.”

“That’s a great point Damian.”

“You’re not even listening!”

“Of course I am.”

“URGH. You always do this!!” Damian turned on his heel and proceeded to take out his feelings on the nearest piece of training equipment — with proper technique of course. 

“Speaking of good points, Dick’s come down with a fever,” Tim announced. 

“It could be worse. It could be worse,” Bruce mumbled as he rubbed at his temples. 

“At least Jason seems fine, but he was hanging out with Dick these past few days. It would be good to monitor them in case,” Bruce replied to Tim, turning on his swivel chair to face him. 

“Any new leads?”

“I’m positive it has something to do with the crystal but I doubt it’s still in that facility at this point. The other facilities that have the modifications necessary to house this thing would probably be the one in Germany and Brazil. My first bet would be Germany.”

“I could go with my team to investigate Brazil.”

“No that’s alright. You just got back and family movie night is tomorrow.” Only because Dick insisted they have bonding time every other week besides their weekly dinner. Was that rule even applicable given that he has no memory of making that rule in the first place? Nah, Damian religiously follows the rule (not openly of course but Dick's his favorite parental figure). 

"Oh yeah. In consideration for our new demographics, I got out our Disney collection. I'm torn between Toy Story 2 and Monsters Inc. Any preference?" Tim whipped out the disc cases--the ones with the extra child safety clips--and passed them over to Bruce. 

"Ask Jason," Bruce waved him off.

"I vote for Toy Story 2," a voice came from the upper lab. On the railing sat Jason, swinging his legs with one hand holding the railing and the other holding a half eaten apple. 

"Sure, we'll go with that bud," Bruce then groaned as he stumbled out of his chair. Jason snickered.

"You good there old man?" said Jason, jumping down to where the others were. 

"Did I ask for your opinion?"

"You certainly didn't  _ not  _ ask for it."

"You know what, scratch that. Jason is my favorite," said Tim, ruffling Jason's hair despite their near equal heights. Jason poked under his ribs, which thankfully was one of Tim's tickle spots, then assaulted him with tickles.

“B-b-haha-betray-ayal!” Both boys fell to the cave floor laughing. Bruce couldn’t help the upturn of his lips at the brotherly display. Damian took one look at the scene and tutted, marching his way to the showers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Fever dreams and mayhaps some more conflict. Dick will have more development! 
> 
> I have such a bad habit of not writing out the details, but I promise my outline has plot *sweats*. This fic will probably have around 6 chapters so until then I guess!

**Author's Note:**

> Ah yes. More 1am ramblings. 
> 
> Next chapter: Brothers...again?  
> Dick and Jason get some much needed interaction and maybe come to an agreement?


End file.
